Portland Diamond Project pulls $80M offer for PPS Major League Baseball stadium site

The people behind an effort to bring Major League Baseball to Portland no longer want to transform the centrally-located headquarters of Portland Public Schools into a stadium, baseball backers announced Wednesday.

The reason? The Portland Diamond Project's leaders say they want to clear the way for the Albina Vision Trust, a group that aims to build more affordable housing in the city.

"Although we were initially drawn to this property for its close-in location, access to transportation and its potential to be transformative to the east bank of the Willamette, it became apparent to us that the Albina Vision Trust's board of directors has a long-range plan for the building and the immediate area that will serve the overall community in a very meaningful way," Portland Diamond Project founder and CEO Craig Cheek said in a press release. "Albina Vision's focus on diversity and social equity is aligned with our mission, and we are putting our full support behind it."

The Albina Vision Trust is made up of investors, architects, artists, developers who want to transform the area into a vibrant space with affordable housing. Leaders with Albina Vision Trust had said a baseball stadium would derail those plans.

"We aren't anti-baseball," Rukaiyah Adams, a leader with Albina Vision Trust, told The Oregonian/OregonLive in August. "Baseball may come and go, but Portlanders are going to stay here."

Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero made clear when the offer to sell the district's headquarters came up last spring that the district would need to think carefully before accepting any offers. That's still true, district officials say.

"Our core mission remains focused on providing all of our students in Portland Public Schools with an excellent educational experience," Guerrero said in a statement. "Our centrally located headquarters is a highly attractive site for potential future development, and we will continue to evaluate any future opportunities that support our school system's goals and better serves our community."

The proposed $80 million offer, which was extended to PPS in April, included an offer to relocate the district headquarters to the former Banfield Pet Hospital offices off Northeast 82nd Avenue.

The Multnomah County assessor's office estimates the school district headquarters has a market value of $105 million.